Life on the DMZ: A Personal Photo Essay

A guard post on the North West Islands, about 15km from North Korea

My talk to the Crookwell Rotary Club — 16 June 2026

On a crisp June evening I had the pleasure of speaking to the Crookwell Rotary Club about one of the most confronting and inspiring places I’ve visited in recent years: the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

The talk, “Life on the DMZ: A Personal Perspective,” was a photo essay drawn from multiple visits to the frontier that still divides the Korean peninsula. It was a privilege to share these images and stories with a room full of people who understand service, resilience, and community — values that feel very much at home in the Southern Tablelands.

Why the DMZ?

I’ve been exploring the Demilitarised Zone between the two Koreas for the last few years to understand what it is like to live at the frontier of freedom.

The North Korean propaganda village, as seen from South Korea

The contrast between North and South is confronting. It gives one a profound sense of gratitude for the lifestyles we enjoy in the West — and makes clear how important it is that we actively defend our way of life.

Personal Connections — Korea Military Academy

The Korean  military Academy

At an Asia Society Korea event in Seoul I met Colonel Steve Tharp (US Army), Colonel Honki Jee (ROK Army), and retired Lieutenant General In-Bum Chun.

After the session, General Chun approached me, thanked me for my service, and said:

“Thank you for the 340 Australians who lost their lives so that we could create this,” gesturing out the window toward the metropolis of Seoul below.

That moment crystallised the living legacy of Australia’s sacrifice in the Korean War.

Our friend Colonel Jee and his name on the graduation list.

Observatories and the View Across the Divide

With Colonel Tharp at Dora.

Dora Observatory, on Dorasan in Paju-si, is one of the closest public vantage points for viewing North Korea. The detailed topographic model helps orient visitors to the guard posts, villages, and terrain on both sides of the DMZ.

The view at Ganwha Peace Observatory.

Further west, Gangwha Peace Observatory offers another powerful perspective on the division.

Life on the Islands – YP-Do and Coastal Defence

Guard Post at YP-Do

Yeonpyeong Island (YP-Do) and the Northwest Islands are among the most exposed parts of South Korea’s frontier. Here, old Sherman tank guns have been repurposed as coastal artillery, and modern K9 howitzers stand ready.

Re-purposed Sherman tank gun on YP-Do.

The islands show the constant state of readiness that defines life on the DMZ.

The tunnel to get to the coastal artillery.

The Constant Threat of Landmines

Even decades after the Korean War, the danger remains real. Warning signs like these are common near the DMZ. In December 2023 a man in his sixties was killed when his excavator triggered a Korean War-era landmine while working on his property.

Landmines are a persistent threat.

I wasn't joking around.

The 3rd Infiltration Tunnel and surrounding areas are stark reminders that this frontier is still very much a live military zone.

The third tunnel exhibition is rather touristie, but don't be fooled!

R&R – The Human Side of South Korea

While the DMZ commands respect and vigilance, everyday life in South Korea is vibrant and full of colour. Korean baseball (KBO), hearty meals, and the ritual of Cass beer, soju, and makgeolli provided wonderful moments of R&R between visits to the frontier.

Cass beer, soju, and makgeolli. What's not to like?

Jamsil Stadium is an institution. Grateful for Colonels Tharp (pictured) and Jee (taking the photo).

Korean food is the greatest. Pork hock.

Korean food and drink are the best. The end.

The Mapo Wine Club is an institution. What an excellent evening! Thank you, Gentlemen!

Defending Memory

At Jayu (Freedom) Park in Incheon stands the statue of General Douglas MacArthur, honoured for the 1950 Incheon Landing. In 2005 progressive activists tried to have it removed. Korean War veterans mobilised in large numbers to physically defend it. The statue remains standing today — a powerful example of a nation that refuses to forget its friends.

General Macarthur statue at Incheon Freedom Park.

Life on the DMZ is a frontier of freedom that still shapes lives today.

It was an honour to share these photographs and reflections with the Crookwell Rotary Club. In a regional community like ours, the values of service, mateship, and quiet resilience feel very close to the stories of the Korean people and the legacy of the 340 Australians who gave their lives in the Korean War.

Freedom is not free.

Thank you to everyone who came along, asked thoughtful questions, and stayed for a chat afterwards. These conversations matter.

Lest we forget.

Vale Brigadier ‘Warrie’ George Lyon Mansford AM

Vale Brigadier ‘Warrie’ George Lyon Mansford AM An Australian Army legend

Not for generations has there been a ‘soldier’s soldier’ of such calibre in the Australian Army nor a man who inspired so many of the best and brightest sons and daughters of Anzacs. Yesterday, Brigadier ‘Warrie’ George Lyon Mansford AM passed away at the age of 91. He didn’t die, for he will live on in many of our hearts forever.

My obituary of Brigadier George Lyon Mansford AM in The Spectator Australia.

Not for generations has there been a ‘soldier’s soldier’ of such calibre in the Australian Army nor a man who inspired so many of the best and brightest sons and daughters of Anzacs.

Yesterday, Brigadier ‘Warrie’ George Lyon Mansford AM passed away at the age of 91. He didn’t… pic.twitter.com/m57NSpgvR4

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) February 21, 2026

Young Australians should travel instead of going to Woke universities

I’ve prioritised my education above my finances, my health, and my personal relationships.

Some people will read the German icon Thomas Mann on a train from Berlin to Dresden, marvelling at his wit and insight. Others will spend three years and $80,000 to be told that Mann justifies Germany’s out of control immigration program because his mother was Brazilian and therefore an immigrant. Such biased thoughts would occur despite having taken unconscious bias training.

Today’s Australian university sector has embraced the socialist fantasy of equality of outcomes with a zeal that belongs in the former German Democratic Republic. Pass rates must rise, failure must be abolished, feelings must be protected, and if the content has to be hollowed out to achieve this, so be it. The result is a credential that certifies nothing except endurance of the process and a desire to don a rainbow lanyard.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Young Australians should travel instead of going to Woke universities.

HAS AN AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION LOST ITS VALUE?

With universities willing to hand out the parchment for little more than turning up (or not turning up), then a degree itself has become all but worthless.

Employers already know this, that’s why graduate recruiters now… pic.twitter.com/SEbbtgZlxL

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 1, 2026

Surfing the waves of nostalgia with Brian Wilson

Wilson wasn’t just writing songs. He was building worlds.

As I write this, I’m struck by how much of my childhood was shaped by Brian Wilson’s sounds. The Beach Boys weren’t just a band, they were a feeling, a memory, a tether to a time when the world seemed simpler, even if it never really was. Brian Wilson’s genius wasn’t just in his music but in his ability to make kids like me believe in the endless summer, no matter where we were. And for that, I’ll always be grateful.

Alexandra Marshall had this to say in the Unfiltered newsletter:

Michael de Percy has written a fond farewell to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. ‘Wilson’s genius lay in his ability to uplift one’s spirits, even though his were deeply troubled,’ he wrote, adding, ‘Wilson wasn’t just writing songs, he was building worlds.’ It’s a shame that we are slowly losing talent only to have it replaced by … well, I’m not really sure that much of the noise today can be considered ‘music’.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Surfing the waves of nostalgia with Brian Wilson.

MICHAEL DE PERCY | "The Beach Boys weren’t just a band, they were a feeling, a memory, a tether to a time when the world seemed simpler, even if it never really was."https://t.co/UvtdCpRvEm

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) June 14, 2025

Our Anglican tradition, and a bit with a possum

St George's Anglican Church in Lisbon

As I prepared to write this article, I went to pour a glass of wine. When I returned to my study, my television had turned itself on. In a black and white movie, the actor was playing a violin, surrounded by children singing, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. I immediately retold the story to my local padre, an Anglican priest and army chaplain who leads our RSL services. He remarked that it was clearly a sign that I must not be a doubter and that I must tell my story truly and well.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Our Anglican tradition, and a bit with a possum.

Our Anglican tradition, and a bit with a possum | @FlaneurPolitiq

Identity politics has infiltrated the Anglican tradition. The meaning of the stained-glass window depicting Sir Galahad is disappearing along with veterans.

Christians are disappearing.https://t.co/4nAaELoiyA

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 6, 2025

A Very Arabian Christmas: Stolen cars, flying princesses, and the Russian Mafia

Desert Mosque. South of the Dead Sea along the King's Highway, Jordan, 2009. 

Part 2 of A very Arabian Christmas continues to do for Speccie Christmas articles what Die Hard did for Christmas movies. It was all downhill from here. You can read Part 1 here.

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Years after getting married in Jordan, I had the opportunity to spend a sabbatical there. The plan was to stay at my in-laws and work with a university in Amman. I have some longtime friends and colleagues there, and I have nothing but fond memories of Jordan. But in the midst of a less than cordial relationship, rather than claim aggrieved status here, I will try to make the most of a rough patch that included stolen cars, flying princesses, and late-night wreck dives in the Red Sea during a storm with the Russian mafia added for good measure.

In the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes wrote:

Today, we give you both part 1 and part 2 of Michael de Percy’s unusual Christmas traveller’s tales in Jordan. Although he may be a cloistered academic, Dr de Percy’s life has certainly been interesting! One crowded hour, and all that…

My latest in The Spectator Australia, A Very Arabian Christmas: Stolen cars, flying princesses, and the Russian Mafia.

A very Arabian Christmas: stolen cars, flying princesses, and the Russian Mafia 😂 | @FlaneurPolitiq
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Once I had finished my work in Amman, I wanted to go down to Aqaba. Aqaba is the place where British Army officer and legend, Lawrence of Arabia, attacked. He had been… pic.twitter.com/rKAKJPjavH

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) December 19, 2024

A very Arabian Christmas: What the hell was I thinking?

The Monastery at Petra. I think it is better than the Treasury of Indiana Jones fame [2009 by Author]

Our online editor, Alexandra Marshall, has an excellent piece in the Christmas bumper edition of The Spectator Australia entitled Travels with my Brother. Alexandra’s article reminded me of the rhythm in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. It also made me think back to two Christmases I spent in the Middle East. I mentioned one New Year’s Eve I spent in a Russian Mafia nightclub in Aqaba, and Alexandra thought it sounded like the start of an interesting article. So here is the result: Part 1 of A Very Arabian Christmas that does for Speccie Christmas articles what Die Hard did for Christmas movies. Part 2 is all downhill from here. But read Alexandra’s article first, it’s brilliant!

I was married in Amman. It’s this whole other story that is no doubt entertaining for others but makes me wonder, ‘What the hell was I thinking?’ Let’s just say I wasn’t. But let us also say that ‘third time lucky’ is an evil lie!

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

This morning, when posting the articles for the day, I discovered that fellow writer Michael de Percy has crazier holidays than me. He has penned a travel piece worthy of Netflix – A very Arabian Christmas. ‘What the hell was I thinking?’ he asked. No idea, but it’s an entertaining read.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, A very Arabian Christmas: What the hell was I thinking?

A very Arabian Christmas | What the hell was I thinking???
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"The pyramids? The smyramids! If you want to see the pyramids, go there first. Whatever you do, do not go to Petra first. Petra is the greatest of all wonders and it will overshadow most other human… pic.twitter.com/1y4afwzVnR

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) December 16, 2024

Bhutan: It's a Dog's Life

The Tiger's Nest near Paro, Bhutan.

On 2nd October 2024, I delivered a presentation to the University of the Third Age at the Goodwin Village Farrer on my recent visits to Bhutan where I teach leadership as part of a Masters of Business Administration degree. 

My slides from the presentation are below.

Profile: Captain Michael de Percy, GPO/FO 101 Fd Bty 1996-7

About to call in F/A-18 close air support training missions airborne in the Pilatus PC-9, 1996.

I was asked to write my profile for the 101st Battery Royal Australian Artillery Association September newsletter. The exercise was quite cathartic. WNGO: may contain military acronyms.

Profile: Dr Michael de Percy FRSA FCILT MRSN  (Captain, GPO/FO 101 Fd Bty 1996-7)

I served in the Australian Army for just shy of 15 years from 1990 until 2005. I resigned my commission when I became an academic. I began studying in 1995 while serving as GPO 105 Fd Bty. I was studying the Bachelor of Arts majoring in Strategic Studies at Deakin University, the only undergraduate qualification at the time in what is now referred to as security studies. I left the ARA in 1997 to finish my degree and changed my major to political science. 

Since 2005, I have been a political scientist at the University of Canberra, and I completed my PhD at the Australian National University in 2013. It was a long, hard slog to start all over again from the bottom rung as an academic. For the first few years, I was earning less than I was as a subbie in the ARA. The change was worth it.

But it was strange after all the rivalry between the Tigers and the Hammers that in 1996 I was pulled out of RHQ the day before the Comd Div Arty’s assessment of 1 Fd Regt began. With the Ready Reserve gunners, we were able to put 18 guns in the field that year. The previous GPO had been sacked and I had to walk into the 101 Fd Bty CP and take over a team who regarded me as a competitor rather than one of them. 

We survived only to find that the rules had changed. The end-ex pallets of beer went unopened. Later that year the BG and I were charged for firing a mistake under the dodgiest of circumstances. I’d lost all faith in my commanders and to this day I wish I’d chosen a court-martial.

The following year I became an FO with 101 Fd Bty after topping the IG Phase 1 course as a lieutenant. But I wasn’t happy and tried to transfer to Intelligence Corps. My CO at the time refused to let me go. He had also refused to let me do the Langs course in Indonesian and prevented me from becoming the Bde Comd’s LO. I transferred to the Inactive Reserve disheartened after not seeing the world but instead having travelled to Shoalwater Bay and back about 100 times.

As a boy, I grew up in Penrith just up the road from 133 Sig Sqn at Kingswood and then in Cairns during my teens. I finished high school on 20 November 1987 and started as a chainman with GHD on 23 November. We conducted the site selection surveys for RAAF Scherger near Weipa during the wet season. For the first trip we lived in the slaughterhouse at Sudley Station and then at Billy’s Lagoon Station for the second trip. 

Let’s just say I was pretty fit and I had a pocket full of personality when I got back to Cairns. I was keen on this girl Eliza but for whatever reason it didn’t materialise. After working as a chainman, I completed a traineeship in warehousing and began working in hydraulics and pneumatics spare parts before moving to SKF Bearings. I hated my life.

My military service began with 51FNQR. I woke up one day at age 19 and decided I would either live the life I wanted, or I would end it then and there. I went to work and quit that day. Long story short, I had always wanted to be a fighter pilot, so I started studying Maths 1 and Physics by correspondence. I tried to join the Airforce Cadets as an instructor, but a bloke there said I would be better off joining the Army Reserve. I never did become a fighter pilot, but I qualified as an ACO and got to call in F/A-18 CAIRS training missions while airborne in the back of a PC-9. I still can’t believe they paid me to do that.

From 1990 to 1992 I did every course I could at 51FNQR. I became LCPL Patrol 2IC and PMC of the OR’s Mess and then I learnt about Duntroon. Our patrol scout and I worked part-time with our Patrol Comd who had a floor sanding business. But otherwise, we were doing up to 200 days per year with 51FNQR including live patrols on Cape York Peninsula.

The intake for Duntroon was cancelled in early 1992 and I had to find work to fund my wedding. As I went off to Duntroon, my flame Eliza went off to the UK. My then wife later came to Canberra and our first child was born the day before First Class at RMC. It was a blur, but I ended up receiving the RAA prize, placing ninth out of 189 graduates.

After leaving the ARA and focusing on my degree, the former QM at 1 Fd Regt called me and said to join the Pay Corps. I was studying accounting as part of a double degree, so it made sense. I ended up working as the SO3 Finance and Resources at RMC-D while completing my honours year. Further, I became the inaugural Det Comd of Army Financial Services Unit Canberra Det.

In 2000, now LTGEN(R) Greg Bilton AO CSC organised then Deputy Chief of Army LTGEN(R) Peter Leahy AC to present my Instrument of Promotion to captain at Army HQ. I am fortunate that Peter is now a colleague in my school at the University of Canberra and we have collaborated on a research project with the Australian Civil-Military Centre.

One thing I gained from the Army was social capital. It allowed me to see and experience things that I could never imagine. From a humble upbringing and with the guidance of some very good people, I escaped Cairns and life as a labourer to land upon the dizzying heights of academia.

But because I was so late to the academic party and I have a penchant for speaking my mind, I have become the equivalent of a passed-over major. Eventually I will have to leave the academy if I want to have a greater impact than the institution will allow.

To that end, I was appointed to the Australian Research Council’s College of Experts in 2022, and in 2023 I commenced a weekly column with The Spectator Australia, and I now have a fortnightly spot on Spectator Australia TV as a political commentator.

After discovering that I was eligible for hearing aids, I have since returned to the fold and I am the Gunning Chapter Representative of the Yass Sub-branch of the RSL. Regrettably, the 105 Bty Association folded so I now try to support my remaining associations and became a life member of the 101 Bty Association this year.

My service was not as glorious as others who have been profiled in this newsletter, but I am one of four generations of my family who served, and I am immensely proud that I wore our country’s uniform. I owe much of my good fortune to the Australian Army.

But the good news is that after some 36 years, Eliza and I finally got together, and we live in a federation cottage on a quarter acre block in the village of Gunning on the Southern Tablelands north of Canberra. We have dogs and cats and chickens and a rooster and we grow some of the best-tasting tomatoes and other fruit and veges whenever we are not travelling overseas. 

And in the end, I got the girl. 

Ubique.

Time for tough love or Australia will go to the dogs

Stray dogs opposite Thimphu Clock Tower, Bhutan, 25 July 2024

Unless we become a republic (God help us!) or the Wokerati win and bring about the ‘end of empire’ scenario they so desire, we need to reign in the anti-nationalist politicians, the militant unions and protesters, and the activist public servants who do not support Team Australia before we really do need to be neutered.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Time for tough love or Australia will go to the dogs.

Time for tough love or Australia will go to the dogs
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Unless we become a republic (God help us!) or the Wokerati win and bring about the ‘end of empire’ scenario they so desire, we need to reign in the anti-nationalist politicians, the militant unions and protesters,… pic.twitter.com/pyRKCoJuds

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) July 29, 2024

Taiwan and Australia: She’ll be right, mate?

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Liberty Square, Taipei, 9 June 2024

From Taipei: One of the first things that struck me about Taiwan is that I felt like I was in Cairns. The monsoon rain, the dark skies… You are wet, but you are also hot and sweating and you just have to settle into it. It’s a good thing the local drop is good and cheap, as any Aussie who as lived in Australia’s north would appreciate.

After travelling from Shanghai to Seoul to Taipei in succession, it took a few days to work out which apps I could use to navigate and pay for food, and which language I should use for the normal courtesies. Restrictions in each country require one to be flexible. It was certainly a journey along a spectrum from the highly regulated to the less regulated society.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

Writing from Taipei, Michael de Percy recounts some of the modern history of Taiwan, and how this democracy has flourished in spite of everything thrown at it. He argues that Australia can’t leave little Taiwan to the mercy of Red China with a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude to Asian geopolitics: he’s right.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

The whole ‘she’ll be right’ philosophy that Australians are so fond of might not work out for Taiwan. Writing from his travels in the area, Michael de Percy notes a similar laid back attitude to existential threats in Taiwan – an attitude not shared by the country’s neighbours.

My latest article in The Spectator Australia, Taiwan and Australia: She’ll be right, mate?

Taiwan and Australia: She’ll be right, mate?

Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, ‘vowed to defend democracy and freedom in the face of “external challenges and threats”’. The PRC claims Taiwan as its own territory, despite never having ruled it.https://t.co/BWpGn0lKHR

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) June 17, 2024

Fearless sons and daughters of Anzacs

Veterans marching in the Anzac Day parade, Gunning NSW, 25 April 2024

This year I was asked to deliver the address for the ANZAC Day Memorial Service in my hometown of Gunning, NSW. It caused me to reflect on the military from the time of my grandfathers to my own time and beyond. I was inspired to amend Johnson after an event I witnessed.

When I watched our catafalque party rehearsing this week, commanded by a female corporal in the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, I realised the military I served in was very different from the military of today. There were no female Arms Corps soldiers in my day. But that doesn't mean that women are not good soldiers or that whosoever serves in the military is not a part of the ANZAC tradition. So this address, which also appeared as the lead article for The Spectator Australia this ANZAC Day, was cause for considerable reflection.

For example, the concept of transgender didn't even exist, but transgender soldiers serve in our military. If we measure people on their character, then I cannot justify reimagining the Australian Defence Force in my own image. Nor would I be so arrogant to do so. 

It's a very different military from the one I served in. But there were many women I served with whom I trusted with my life. While I do prefer Johnson's original, too, I don't think it holds true anymore. I also had to acknowledge that our military reflects our society, and it is a good thing when a military is representative of the society it serves.

Below is my ANZAC Day address which was also the lead article in The Spectator Australia today, Fearless sons and daughters of Anzacs. It is rather a reflective piece as it gave me pause to reconsider the nexus of identity politics and the common good. While I do not condone identity politics, if people serve both their purpose and the common good, then who am I to judge?

Fearless sons and daughters of Anzacs
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Today we commemorate the landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli 109 years ago. We also honour those who gave their lives in service to Australia in times of war. Anzac Day has come to represent the… pic.twitter.com/Lct6M80DhN

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) April 24, 2024

My Year in Review: Going for Broke

Some Japanese mothers told their children to behave because they were sitting next to Santa. I obliged.

When I look back on my journal from the beginning of this year, I notice a big gap over the Christmas period. We had COVID and spent some three weeks in bed. Numerous opportunities for functions disappeared at the swish of a cotton bud. I was looking forward to so many things but they were not to be. So for 2023, I decided I would do things differently. I decided I would go for broke.

It was not until the 3rd January 2023 that I tested negative for COVID. At that time, I thought I would be on top of my finances, on top of my writing, on top of everything. Instead, I was exhausted. I've been told repeatedly that I don't belong, at the same time that my new rooster, Mr Peepers, was strutting his stuff in the chook run. I was too sick and tired to be boss.

I made the conscious decision not to renew with my professional association. I refused to pay a cent toward the new woke culture and an organisation that spoke of toxic masculinity while celebrating an anti-male world. I re-established my priorities with other professional bodies that were more attuned to my values and I am pleased to state that I am better for doing so in the past year.

January saw the watering system for the raised garden beds at Keswick being installed - a long term project that went off the rails during a divorce - but then it was mostly done. I've been trying to get back to ticking things off my to do list. I read somewhere that it should be called a "get to do" list to put a positive spin on it but I realised how much nonsense this was and decided it was a "do it and stop whingeing" list so it is once again known as my "to do" list. I found the old hard copy list from 2018 and pasted it into my journal. I was surprised by how much had already been ticked off. As they say, if you write it down, it gets done.

I have noticed over the last twenty years how deadlines at work have become shorter and shorter to the point where you can never have annual leave as a full month off. In looking back on last year, next year is bound to be the same. We have lost something by increasing the number of administrative staff who do nothing other than create deadlines for frontline staff. But I think in terms of arms corps versus service corps and it has never been any different unless some random leader comes along who wants results rather than personal sycophants. But that's how it goes.

I first wrote for The Spectator Australia after an altercation with a colleague where I supported nuclear energy. Doing so often brings up my class self-consciousness. It's funny that today I was talking with my father about the research I have been doing recently and he mentioned how "high-end" my work was - he previously didn't understand. But one of my three younger sisters is now on her way to becoming an academic after decades as a successful leader in international education, and she has somehow managed to explain to Dad what I never could (for whatever reason, probably my own issues).

It is surreal to read my thoughts about my Spectator articles. A war on Christmas, replacing the Reserve Bank with a computer, decolonising ends up where? And there's the idea. I started re-reading Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night on the flight home from Japan the other day. It reminded me of the importance of all  

The good news is that we survived. But what a year!

On Finding One's Core Values, Life Purpose and Career Goals

 

Echo and Narcissus (1903) by John William Waterhouse [Public Domain]

https://www.cmu.edu/career/documents/my-career-path-activities/values-exercise.pdf

https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/what-life-purpose#:~:text=Your%20life%20purpose%20consists%20of,vocation%E2%80%94meaningful%2C%20satisfying%20work.

https://psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/bin/transfer

https://www.politicalscience.com.au/2020/09/perception-in-stoicism-buddhism-and-new.html

https://www.politicalscience.com.au/2021/04/on-finding-ones-tribe.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/career/career-personality-aptitude-test

https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/archive?search=core+values

https://www.16personalities.com/

https://wanderlust.com/journal/wander-lost-heres-reset-inner-compass/

https://hohmannchris.wordpress.com/2019/08/20/how-can-a-goal-tree-help-you-changing-job-part-3-list-and-order-all-prerequisites-using-necessity-based-logic/

Life without a desk is hardly worth living

My makeshift desk at AmmutsØn Craft Beer Dive, Vienna. Corpus Christi holiday, 8th June 2023. 

While immersing myself in Viennese culture and history as part of my ongoing cross-country comparative studies into transport, telecommunications, and energy policy, I find it frustrating that my hotel has no desks in any of its rooms. 

Jaz in the City is one of many trendy concept hotels that emerged in the pre-COVID era. The hotel and the staff are great, but there aren't any desks. It is now my sixth day and I have finally found a location with good Wi-Fi and a power point and space where I can plug in all of my USB devices from my laptop. I can also write up my journal which has been hit and miss over the last few days.

The idea of not having a desk in a hotel is foreign to me. Almost every hotel has a desk (with hotel stationery) where one can write letters or set up one's laptop. But for some reason, Jaz has none and almost nowhere to sit at a comfortable level to type and write.

It has been an enlightening experience to think about emerging trends and thoughts about society. We met a young Australian waiter at an historic cafe who stated that he escaped Melbourne's lockdowns and that, unlike Australia, he could at least afford a place to live in Austria. 

But the top tax rate in Austria is the third highest in the OECD after Denmark and France. To compare Australia and Austria (there is an interesting t-shirt here that reads "There are no kangaroos in Austria"), Australia's total tax revenue as a percentage of GDP is 29.6%.

Austria, on the other hand, has total tax revenue of 43.5 per cent of GDP. The top marginal tax rate in Austria is 55% compared with Australia at 45%.

My young friend is no doubt taking advantage of other people's money when it comes to living in Austria. Couple that with many academics who are now pushing for government-funded housing in Australia and lamenting Australians' reluctance to rent for life rather than own a house, and I can see where this foreign culture comes from.

It was most noticeable today in the Leopold Museum where certain artworks were tilted at 5 and 6 degrees to demonstrate how unsettling climate change might be if the earth's climate were to increase by "a few degrees more". But the Leopold Museum was a case of "Art imitating Woke" and I was surprised that a serious art gallery would have so readily jumped on board with the latest "the end is nigh" nutters.

Courbet would be aghast at the establishment using his works to propagate climate anxiety!

My favourite satirist, Rowan Dean, has pointed out how current approaches that align with The Voice are intent on undoing Sir Robert Menzies' dream of all Australians owning their own home. 

The socialisation of private property is a key goal of climate change-oriented designers. I noticed how socialist ideology permeates all aspects of art and design in Austria. The 10 Commandments for the 21st Century were one of many installations in the lower bowels of the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK):

It is interesting, too, that the upper floors of the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) were devoted to Austria's embracing of the Arts and Crafts movement, most notably of the Englishman William Morris, in the rush towards modernism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The "Austrian" style that emerged is more appropriately referred to as the "Vienna" style. I am yet to determine whether Austria has copied yet another global movement, in this case, "climate anxiety", or whether this time around they are leading the cause.

But what is clear to me is that, like Marxist ideals and other socialist variations that have occurred since the revolution of 1848 in Austria and in various other socially-engineered experiments outside of the Soviet or Communist states, have all failed after a short period of time. 

Human nature is notoriously fluid and escapes any attempt to pin it down.

Recent news in Australia today has pointed to the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and Katy Gallagher, as both being complicit in dodgy behaviour relating to the Brittany Higgins settlement. At the same time, the ABC's audience figures are collapsing along with support for The Voice as idealism is smashed against the harsh reality of politics.

I have been struggling to see the point of my recent journalistic writing as mere ephemera. Like Aristotle said:

Time crumbles things; everything grows old under the power of Time and is forgotten through the lapse of Time. The young are permanently in a state resembling intoxication. Remember that time slurs over everything, let all deeds fade, blurs all writings and kills all memories.

With such a perspective, everything is ephemeral. My ephemera has enabled me to develop thoughts and ideas that can be applied to other things, It is not just the output of a single piece of work, as my experience of Vienna's galleries has provided. 

I was able to have a few clear thoughts with my pop-up desk today.

But without a desk, nothing happens it seems.

Australia's Korean War 70 years on

At the DMZ, April 2023

As we approach the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement (July 27, 1953), it is timely to reflect on Australia’s contribution to securing what is effectively the frontier of democracy.

Here is my latest article in The Spectator's Flat White, Australia's Korean War 70 years on.

As we approach the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement (July 27, 1953), it is timely to reflect on Australia’s contribution to securing what is effectively the frontier of democracy.https://t.co/S9mO2PRLIh

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) April 25, 2023

Year in Review: 2022

Donald the Silver Laced Wyandotte Rooster, Keswick, 15th December 2022

This year has been so hectic I barely recall what happened. The last time I felt like this was in 1993 after I graduated from the Royal Military College Duntroon. It was the same year my first son was born (the day before First Class started in July 1993) and the entire time was a blur. Ending this year with COVID has been a real downer, and instead of celebrating Christmas, I am fighting lethargy as the left-over work builds up yet again to ensure there is no year-end downtime.

I began the year with jury duty which was disturbing due to the nature of the case and annoying because the nature of my employment means that anything that disrupts my work, like leave or jury duty, just means that the weeks of work back up until I return. Beginning and ending the year this way really sucks. But there have been some major highlights that make it a successful year overall.

One thing that was an important driver for an improved life was taking a hearing test. I discovered that I have suffered critical hearing loss in my left ear, and severe hearing loss in my right ear. The suburban shopping mall hearing test centre wanted to charge me some $12,000 for state-of-the-art hearing aids. The hearing aids were so good when I trialled them that I didn't want to take them off. Alas, the price was a rip-off and I found Specsavers Audiology had a similar product that, when combined with my Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) rebate and my Defence Health rebate, the top product was around $1,350 out of pocket. It has been life-changing.

Returning to the defence fold was life-changing, too. I didn't know that there is such a thing as the Australian Defence Veteran's Covenant and the veteran's pension supplement as part of the DVA White Card that all former serving ADF members are now eligible for - this has been around for years. I had walked out of the military when I became an academic, determined to pursue a different life. But the Army has always been a big part of my family. In the New Year, I will continue to put forward claims from the injuries I sustained during my service. As I age, these are becoming more pronounced and will only get worse.

My experience in the last few weeks of my regular army service was pretty sad. Come to think of it, it replicates many of the same events that happened mid-career as an academic. I played the lieutenant too well and after a leadership change, my previous loyalties were detrimental to my future. A combination of ego and pride didn't help. So there's a huge lesson already to reflect upon.

But a major change was returning to the RSL and becoming the representative for the Gunning Chapter of the Yass Sub-Branch. I renewed my membership and helped out with ANZAC Day 2022 where I led the march, read In Flanders Fields, and then did the same again for Remembrance Day 2022. I feel connected to the community of veterans here in Gunning and, along with playing snooker when we weren't in COVID lockdowns or impacted by the flooding, that has been a highlight.

I was assigned jury duty in the first half of the year although this was not a highlight. I ended up being excused after a cock-up by the legal parties, but it took two weeks out of my work that I then had to catch up on. This led to some rather unfair consequences for me and I railed against the injustice. But rather than carry on like a dick, the experience led me to return to politics in a way I had not done since becoming an academic. It has been a rewarding experience and I hope I can make an impactful contribution in that space next year.

I also joined the Royal Automobile Club of Australia, a long-held desire, and I have taken advantage of the Club on numerous occasions to either stay, park the car, or have a drink or coffee before and after events I have attended in Sydney. Regrettably, I missed two of the most desirable events in the last part of the year due to COVID. It really sucked but I have been Stoic about it - I can't control my body or its illness so there is no use carrying on about it.

In the early part of the year, I was appointed to the Australian Research Council's College of Experts. This has been a privilege and I have learnt so much already. It provides the added advantage of enabling me to conduct research using the consulting fees I receive as research funding. On top of this, I was awarded a bonus for my research output in 2021, so I had funding to travel to Korea and Perth for research and a keynote address. Two weeks in Korea was a highlight of the year, and there are so many opportunities there for future visits. It is a lovely place and I cannot wait to explore it in more detail.

By mid-year, we had finished work on our book, COVID-19 and Foreign Aid: Nationalism and Global Development in a New World Order. It was quite the effort but we got there in the end. Along with the book, I wrote one chapter and co-authored two more.

During the winter, we travelled to Cairns and met my partner's mother and two of my three grandchildren. COVID lockdowns were particularly sad times for weddings and welcoming in new family members. And Cairns was unseasonably cool so despite staying in the faded grandeur of the Kewarra Beach Resort, there was no suitable weather for swimming. 

Then we took an actual holiday and went to Singapore as soon as the borders were open. We had a great time at the Regent Hotel and enjoyed some fine dining, some great bars and local food, and generally had a great time. Although I have been to Singapore many times, it was good to explore some of the finer things and not have to be working. Nevertheless, I was contacted by work via Facebook asking if I was teaching the next day - someone forget to mention the changed timetable - this sucked and it set me up for an even greater backlog before returning to work. Leave has often been not a break from work, it is a pause where your work backs up for however long you are away. That will be different next year. Leave will be a time when I do not work and I have a relaxing time and when I return, I begin new work with no backlog.

There have been several sad events this year. My best good little man Pablo died in my arms after a long period of liver failure. He is still in my dreams every night and I miss him terribly. Our buff Sussex rooster also died but we have a new rooster, Donald, who is full of character and will hopefully be big enough soon to not only protect himself but protect the flock. Lenny the cat has hyperthyroidism and needs daily medication and little Frida the mini-foxie is also on her last legs with heart failure imminent. Frankie has her moments with Addison's Disease. Desi the indestructible cat with a case of an incurable cherry eye due to his skin fragility syndrome still has a death wish but is now over five years of age, defying the usual outcome of being euthanised at 12 months of age. Joseph the Vet retiring and moving away was a sad end to a rewarding relationship, but the new vets at Gundaroo are keeping me happy.

Thankfully, our other cats Karl and Valentine remain blissfully healthy. We are down to six chickens plus Donald the rooster. We still have an ongoing supply of eggs despite the girls pushing five years now. While having so many pets around the same age can be quite tragic as they pass, without their little souls around my feet, I doubt life would be quite as enriched as they make it.

Creating opportunities for internships has been a highlight, with two successful interns this year, one leading to a journal article in the closing weeks of December. I was elected as the Vice President of TelSoc after spending the previous year as a board member, and I was re-elected to the Vice Chair position with the ACT & Southern NSW Chapter of CILTA. I was also granted full membership to the Australian Nuclear Association and my aim to conduct research work in the three main areas of networked infrastructure policy, telecommunications, transport, and energy, now has a practical element and an industry focus as I learn from my various networks and the events that have been inspiring this year.

I have tried to focus on politics as a contest of ideas and, rather than sit on the sidelines as Le Flaneur Politique, I changed my focus from being non-partisan to "remaining aloof from the groupthink of the contemporary academy". With the change in government, the "wokerati" have taken every advantage and are hell-bent on destroying the way we live. It has become increasingly obvious that free speech and academic freedom are being curtailed. I am a big believer in "use it or lose it", so I took a few opportunities, and made a few mistakes, but managed to get there in the end.

I also participated in numerous events, conferences, technical site visits, webinars, seminars, and so on. Here is a comprehensive list of events I attended or participated in: Recent Events Roundup: August to December 2022. 

But my change of heart really began when I read an article in the Lowy Institute's The Interpreter, where someone was arguing that our energy security depended on even more renewables. I have watched the Cullerin Wind Farm nearby with its 15 turbines sitting idle for weeks now. One thing that is becoming clear is that these turbines require maintenance, and their lifespan is not as long as originally thought. How these "renewable" infrastructure items provide energy "security" is beyond me. So I penned an article with a colleague on the need for nuclear energy to be on the table. Let's just say that there was an issue with academic freedom.

Those who not only celebrated Labor's election win but who then celebrated the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and went on a tirade about decolonising everything and "acknowledging country" as a performative measure of morality are plain wrong. Our economic situation and Labor's over-the-top socialism will prove that in due course.

Then there was the focus on "toxic masculinity" in my professional body. If you are woke, you can say whatever you like no matter how wrong and this leads to accolades and celebrations. If you do not celebrate the stupidity that is leading us down the garden path to economic ruin and social fracturing which is a security threat in itself, then you run the risk of being ostracised or labelled with a number of woke insults that stick like mud to the proverbial blanket. These situations led me to delete my Twitter account and not renew my membership in this professional body gone woke. Leaving Twitter had nothing to do with Elon Musk, but rather that it had become a cesspool of wokeness that was driving me to despair. Leaving my professional association means I no longer write to an audience that hates what I write and actively aims to destroy the way I live, but it also means I can focus on things that are important to me. 

After watching the news media go after the Coalition, especially The Guardian and the ABC, and watching what my woke friends on Facebook were debating, and then seeing what the Albanese Government has already done to threaten our freedoms, way of life, and the rule of law, I decided to take sides. The jobs and skills summit set me off. I'd been writing a few articles and submitting these to a variety of places but to no avail. There was nowhere for my ideas. I had experienced this with a journal the year before where I wrote a controversies piece. The article was rejected with the two reviewers writing responses longer than my piece to debate what I had said before rejecting it. Obviously, the article had the desired effect but the wokerati have taken over the academy in strength.

I looked at how The Guardian had infiltrated Australia, and I remembered writing an article for The Punch when it appeared briefly in Australia many years ago. I miss The Bulletin, that Australian weekly magazine, and The Monthly and The New Statesman and a bunch of other old-school mastheads were so woke I couldn't bear it - the left-wing orthodoxy has infiltrated everywhere. Except for The Spectator. 

For the last few weeks of the year, I decided to write my ideas in a space where they would not be shut down by the wokerati. Even The Conversation went so woke as to censor people's comments for things the editors did not agree with - this is completely against the liberal ideal and I will not contribute to it. To date, I have written ten articles for The Spectator and it has been a highlight. As I found my own voice and I am learning not to self-censor (as opposed to completely removing my filter!), I have found other outlets.

I wrote a submission into the Morrison's Multiple Ministries saga that was cited but rejected by the Inquiry. My article on Rewiring the Nation versus nuclear led to a television interview with Fred Pawle. I had some success began quoted in the media on transport-related topics, and I was a keynote speaker on three occasions at the CILT World Congress (hydrogen), the Goulburn Soldiers Club (nuclear), and the 8th Bienniel ACSPRI Methodology Conference (using historical constitutionalism as method). I missed two great events in late December due to illness, but hopefully, the opportunities will be there next year.

What to do next year? I will continue to write as my research and ideas dictate, but I will focus on an audience that is interested in my ideas. Writing for woke audiences would be easy - I could write on woke topics and be published, but it would be a form of manipulation that smacks of intellectual laziness and I cannot be so untrue to myself.

I want to get my podcast happening regularly and start writing books (I have two editors waiting on proposals). I have a pipeline of journal articles now but I will not focus on A* nonsense journals that do not engage with industry or reflect the importance of research for Australia. I also hope to make inroads into public policy in NSW and Australia more generally and will continue to contribute submissions to public inquiries when I can. I hope to continue to develop internships for the best and brightest of my students and I hope to continue to contribute to The Spectator. To have one of my articles in the print edition would be great.

These are scary times for Australia. After years of living in Canberra and being part of the academic bubble, I am so glad I moved to Gunning and became part of the federation again. Listening to the opinions of the forgotten people has been refreshing. Writing for The Spectator has given me a taste for free speech like I have never had before. I will use it and not lose it.

It has been a long, hard road this year. But like all years, I have lived up to my credo - my guiding principles are Love, Liberty, and Learning. On reflection, I have been successful on these three fronts this year.